NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — Prosecutors on Monday announced that two men pled guilty in the poisoning of four children at a Bronx daycare facility in 2023.
On the morning he was scheduled to begin trial, Felix Herrera Garcia, 35, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death and serious bodily injury, as well as possession of narcotics with intent to distribute, resulting in death and serious bodily injury, all in connection with the poisoning of four children under the age of three, one of whom died, at a daycare facility in the Bronx on September 15, 2023.
All three counts carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
On May 23, Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, 38, pled guilty to conspiring to distribute narcotics and stipulated that his conduct caused death and serious bodily injury, in connection with his role in the poisonings.
It carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
According to court documents, from at least in or about October 2022 through at least in or about September 2023, Herrera Garcia and Parra Paredes, and others conspired to distribute fentanyl, para-fluorofentanyl, and heroin at the Daycare.
Despite the daily presence of children, including infants, Herrera Garcia, Parra Paredes, and their co-conspirators maintained large quantities of fentanyl, including more than 10 kilograms of narcotics hidden inside secret compartments, or traps, located beneath the floor of the Daycare’s playroom, officials said.
As a result, on or about September 15, 2023, four children at the Daycare, who were all under three years of age, experienced the effects of poisoning from exposure to fentanyl. Three of the children were hospitalized. The fourth child, a boy just under two years-of-age, died.
"Felix Herrera Garcia pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death and other federal charges for causing the fatal fentanyl ingestion of 22-month-old Nicholas Dominici and the injury to three other babies at the Divino Nino Day Care Center in the Bronx on September 15, 2023," Bronx County District Attorney Darcel Clark said. "Herrera Garcia has now been held accountable in the tragic loss of little Nicholas, the serious injury of Abel, and the harm to Kiara and Jaziel."